Love Kills
by annabelle-avenger
Summary: My version of season 3! Don't own TVD: Mystic Falls is still running rampant with the supernatural! Stefan's with Klaus, and the gang is trying to get him back while dealing with their own problems back home. 'Episode' summaries inside. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1: Picking Up the Pieces: Part 1

**Okay, I'm brand new to fanfiction and everything that comes with it, so I just hope you enjoy this. I've seen the show and thought it had really interesting plot lines ... and a few began to form in my head. Rather than just think about them I've decided to write them down this season. The stories are episode form, as if it were the show. Not sure when I'll update again, but Part 2's almost done.**

Season 3- Love Kills

Episode 1- Picking up the Pieces: Part 1

Stefan looked around absorbing the scene around him. It had been one of those little immigrant communities that had taken up a few blocks on the outskirts of New York City, but it was that no longer. Blood and carnage had transformed the what was once a hopeful cluster of buildings into a horror scene. Stefan continued to watch what was left with a smile on his face.

"Over two hundred in little less than an hour," he mused, talking to himself. "Quite an accomplishment."

"I don't know," came an English accented voice from behind him. "I've done better myself. 1796 in France. No one notices when whole little villages are destroyed during The Reign of Terror."

"Klaus," Stefan said curtly, turning to face him.

"Ready to wake because I have things to do? Oh, wait, that means you do, too."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows wondering what on earth he was talking about it was 1919, and he wasn't asleep ... was he?

Stefan woke with a jerk and looked around somewhat disorientated.

"That was some dream," said Klaus, sitting in a chair next to the beds in the cheap motel they had stayed in that night. "Impressive but not your best."

Klaus stood up and threw some clothes and a blood bag over to Stefan. "Hurry up. We have a long day ahead of us and a ride to catch." With that he left the room and closed the door, and Stefan began what would soon become routine to him.

Elena drummed her fingers on the table, staring at her phone. It had been hours and Stefan still hadn't replied. That could not be good.

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"A watched pot never boils," muttered Damon sarcastically under his breath. He was pretty much back to his old safe after he had taken a shower. Still a little weak, but definitely the Damon she was used to.

Elena ignored this comment and furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you think Katherine meant when she said Stefan had given himself over to Klaus?"

"We've already been through this, Elena," Damon began exasperatedly, pouring himself a glass of blood. "I don't know."

"And where did Katherine go?" Elena continued as if he hadn't spoken at all.

"No idea," Damon retorted still sarcastic.

"What does Klaus plan to do now, too? And-"

"Elena!" Damon almost yelled. "I'm not sure, and it's not going to help us figure the answers out no matter how many times you repeat the questions," he explained taking a drink. "It's just going to make me more and more anxious and frustrated."

"I know, I know, I'm just ..."

"worried," he finished for her. "I am too," he said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But we'll figure it all out."

Damon sat down next to Elena on one of the couches; they sat in silence before Elena jumped and went for her phone.

"It didn't ring," Damon pointed out, confused.

"I know," Elena said. "But I've just realized, no one knows you're alive but you, me, Katherine, and maybe Stefan." As she finished typing in the number it began to ring.

"Hello?" Bonnie asked sleepily- at Caroline's since she had a bit of a boarding situation to deal with.

"Bonnie?"

"Elena! Oh, what happened? I should've called but ..." Bonnie yawned on her end of the conversation.

"Damon's fine. He got the cure in time."

"The cure? Klaus had it?"

"Klaus was the cure, or his blood, actually."

"What?" Bonnie asked, yawning once again. "How'd ya manage to get it?"

"That's the bad news," Elena began tiredly. "Stefan traded himself for it."

Bonnie didn't answer for a few seconds the said, "Elena, I'm so sorry. Do you know where-"

"No," Elena cut in. "We don't know much of anything right now."

"We'll start on that tomorrow because I need a recharge before I do any more spells."

"What? Why?" Elena asked confused. Damon, who was listening in on the conversation looked the same.

"Well, it took a lot with Jeremy ..." Bonnie trailed off then began hurriedly. "Oh my gosh, Elena! I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to call and tell you."

"Tell me what, Bonnie?" Elena asked, hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Elena, Jeremy died; Liz Forbes shot him by mistake when she was trying to take out Damon."

"What!" Elena screeched.

"Relax, relax, relax. He's fine now. The witches helped me bring him back to life."

"Good," Elena said, relaxing. "Thanks for telling me about Jeremy. Bye."

"Bye," Bonnie responded, already closing her eyes.

"Oh, Bonnie?"

"Yeah?" would you tell Caroline about Damon?"

"Sure."

"The witch can bring people back from the dead?" asked Damon, mystified.

"Apparently," Elena muttered under her breath."

Just then Elena's phone began vibrate loudly against the dark wood of the table. Quickly she grabbed it up and looked at the ID. Her face immediately fell when she saw it was not Stefan but Jeremy.

"Hey, Jer. How are you?" she mumbled into the phone, to tired to ask him for his side of the story from that night. Damon also listened to Jeremy's answer.

"Fine, I guess. Uh, Elena, what happened with everything?" he asked, alarmed by her depressed tone.

"We're not sure yet," she said.

"We're?"

"Damon and I," she said slowly, a little confused.

"Damon, so he's okay?"

"Yeah, hasn't anyone told you?"

"Told me what?" he asked a little impatiently as he paced back and forth down the hallway from the front door to the kitchen. He had been so distracted by him almost dying (well, actually he had died then come back) that he hadn't bothered to get the rest of the story from anyone. That and he'd kind of been freaked by him seeing Vicki and Anna. Shaking his head, trying to get their images out of his mind he repeated. "Told me what, Elena?"

"Stefan and Bonnie talked to Emily and they found out there was a cure, and Klaus knew about it or something. So Stefan went over to find out what it was."

"He went by himself?"

"Yes, and it turns out Klaus' blood is the cure. Stefan traded himself for it. Then Klaus gave a bottle of his blood to Katherine who, in turn, came and gave it to Damon. Damon's fine now, but we've got no idea what happened to Stefan or where he is," she finished shakily.

Damon took the phone from Elena gently as she wiped her now watering eyes. "Jeremy," Damon said seriously. "Stay in the house. I'm not sure what's going on, but stay there until everything's under control. Tell Rick to do the same if he's there."

"Okay," Jeremy said, then hung up.

Damon handed to the phone back to Elena. "Do you think he's- he's ..." she trailed off, unable to finish.

"Dead? No, if he wanted Stefan dead, then he had countless opportunities to kill him and he never did." Damon didn't elaborate, but Elena sensed he was holding something back.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?" Damon said, playing for time. He didn't want to lie to Elena, but he also didn't want to tell her his suspicions.

"Why would Klaus want Stefan alive?"

"I'm not sure yet," he lied. Damon knew exactly why Klaus would want Stefan. Perhaps not the details, but he knew the general reason why Stefan. And he didn't want Elena knowing. Sure, she had come to accept that a vampire had a darker side, but she didn't need to know how dark. "Call the witch," he said suddenly.

"What?" Elena asked, taken aback.

"Call Bonnie and ask her about Stefan since she would have been the last person to see him," he said on his way out the door.

"Okay, but wait, where are you going?"

"Rick's place. I'm going to see what went down there."

"You shouldn't go by yourself-"

"They're probably long gone by now. Klaus wouldn't just hang around. He's done what he intended to do here. I'll be lucky to find anything." And with that he was gone.

Elena picked up her cell phone and dialed Bonnie's number.

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Jeremy continued to pace back and forth even after he got off the phone with his sister. His mind strayed back to his descent down the stairs and his seeing the two girls. After the moment of immediate shock Jeremy had blinked his eyes hard and rubbed them with his fingers, and they had been gone. However, he was sure they weren't a hallucination.

"Jeremy?" called a sleepy voice from the couch. "Jeremy, is that you?"

"Ah, yeah, Rick, it's just me," Jeremy called back.

"What are you doing?" he asked sitting up. "It's like three in the morning."

"Oh, I-I thought I heard a noise." Sure it wasn't the whole story, but it was basically true.

"And?"

"Nothing. I think I'm still a little out of it after everything."

"Oh, well, try and get some sleep. Something tells me it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably. I'm just going to grab a glass of water. Oh, and Elena said Stefan got the cure to Damon in time," Jeremy told him, and he walked towards the kitchen as Rick dropped off to sleep again.

"Good," Rick mumbled already half asleep.

He walked over to the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Then he turned around and almost walked smack into Anna. "Hey, Jeremy," she said with a half smile.

"Anna?" Jeremy asked once again, not sure if she was a hallucination or not.

"Yep," she responded.

"Jer?" said another voice off to the side.

"Vicki?" he said, still really confused.

"Yeah."

"What are you two ... I mean ... What's going on?"

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Bonnie was camped out at Caroline's since she probably wouldn't have been welcome home to her dad's in the the middle of the night after being MIA for the past couple of weeks.

"What do you think's going on with Damon?" asked Caroline nervously.

"For the umpteenth time, Caroline," said Bonnie rolling her eyes but still smiling, "I don't know."

"What if he died, what if Stefan didn't find the cure, what if Klaus killed him, what if-"

"Caroline!"

"Sorry."

Bonnie's cell rang and Elena's number was on the screen.

"Ooh, that's Elena-"

"Caroline ..." Bonnie said, putting the phone to her ear. Caroline shut up then, listening hard. "Hey, Elena."

"Bonnie!" Elena said in relief.

"What happened?" asked Bonnie.

"Damon's okay. Katherine brought the cure in time."

"Katherine?"

"Don't ask, I have know idea why her."

"Okay, what about Stefan, how did he manage it?"

"In the worst possible way- he traded himself for the cure- Klaus' blood."

Right then all three of them were off yelling and popping off questions.

"Wait, wait, wait," Bonnie shouted over both Elena and Caroline. "What do you mean traded himself?"

"That's what Damon has gone to find out. He just left, and I'm not sure when he'll be back. He said something about going to check out Rick's apartment so ..." Elena tapered off not really wanting to discuss Stefan or what had happened between her and Damon before Katherine had come. "Anyway, what happened with Jeremy. I got your text after he had gotten home."

Caroline took the phone and put it on speaker. "My mom was stupid enough to try to go after Damon. So she followed Damon and Jeremy into the Grill. She aimed her gun at Damon, but he moved and she ended up shooting Jeremy instead. I'm so sorry Elena."

"Don't be, it's not your fault, Care. Your mom was just trying to keep everyone safe. I get that," Elena told her gently. She had felt a sense of shock when she heard that it was because of Damon's actions that Jeremy had been shot, but he had been really sick, not in his right mind. To be honest, he might not have known what was going on at that point. It hadn't been his fault.

"I can't believe Damon, though," Bonnie grumbled, voicing Elena's first thoughts. "That bullet wouldn't have even killed him, even though it was wooden."

"Bonnie," Elena chastised, "Damon was sick, he didn't know what was going on, and that bullet could very well have killed him with the wolf bite."

Bonnie grumbled something but dropped it, and an awkward silence took hold.

"So," Caroline began, cutting the tension, "what do we do now?"

"Wait for Damon to get back and tell us what he's found, I guess," Elena said taking a deep breath.

"Sounds like a plan," Caroline agreed, trying to be cheerful. Bonnie just yawned.

"We should try and get some sleep," Bonnie said. "Elena, we'll figure out a way to get Stefan back first thing tomorrow."

"I know, and guys-"

"Yeah?" they both asked in union.

"Thanks for everything."

"Goodnight, Elena," Bonnie said.

"Night," Caroline agreed.

"See you tomorrow." Elena hung up then curled up on the couch she was sitting on and tried to get some sleep.

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Damon had to break in once again into Rick's apartment. This time, however, Katherine wasn't on the other side to tell him what Klaus was up to.

Just as he had suspected, the place had been wiped of almost all trace of Klaus, Katherine, those witches, or even his brother being there. There was one thing, though. The floors and counter were smeared with blood- human blood. These signs spelled nothing but trouble for Damon. He knew exactly what this meant. It hadn't been Klaus that had overdone it with the blood bags or any of his little minions- it had been his dear little brother.

"No!" Damon yelled kicking a chair and actually splintering the wooden leg in frustration.

He had known this would be why Klaus had made the deal. Stefan was ripper, and pretty good one too if given enough blood. In the past century and a half his little brother had been on again and off again when it came to the human stuff. It changed him in a way the was mostly for the worse.

Vampires could generally keep the bloodlust and the emotions under control with some practice after getting used to it all. Stefan was one of the few that couldn't. These vampires couldn't control themselves well in this new state and often acted as if they were newly made vampires even centuries later.

They didn't care about anything except blood. That was it. And Stefan was a true ripper; someone who enjoyed. For years now he had kept it bottled up- this was the longest Stefan had been off human blood- nearly two decades now. Klaus seemed to know about Stefan's past as well. Seeing as Klaus had traded his blood for the service of Stefan as a ripper.

"Just great," Damon muttered, stalking the room.

He had no idea where to go from here. When Stefan started it almost always took a miracle to get him stopped. A miracle ... or Lexi. "Only thing is Lexi's dead," muttered Damon under his breath.

Even if Lexi was alive there would be the issue of tracking him. Rogue rippers left a trail easy enough to follow. Damon knew that from tracking Stefan down. But most rippers didn't have an original vampire to back them. Nor did they usually have a specific target in mind, which was the only reason Klaus would want Stefan.

It finally sank in that he would have to tell Elena everything, and he was not looking forward to it.

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"Where are we going?" It seemed like he had asked the question over a hundred times.

"For the hundredth time," Klaus said (Stefan hadn't been the only one counting), "you'll know when we get there."

Stefan moved uncomfortably in the passenger seat. Klaus had been driving for hours now with no intention of stopping any time soon. His entourage, too, was following in a black SUV behind them.

"Can you at least tell me what we're going to be doing at this place you can't tell me about?" Stefan pleaded, not sure if he was going to far or not.

Klaus smiled mischievously, still rather pleased with himself. "Oh, I think you can guess."

Yes, Stefan could guess. He would be killing and was by repulsed by the fact that he was looking forward to it- that what he wanted right now was to feel his fangs grow and sink into some unsuspecting victim's neck, or better yet, a victim who knew it was coming. He came back from this fantasy with a jolt. He couldn't do this again. He had to keep himself in check. No one that didn't have to die would- just enough to keep Klaus happy ... and maybe one or two for his own enjoyment.

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"Elena ... Elena ... Elena ... Elena," Stefan called from out of sight.

"Stefan?" she called back looking around. Elena was standing in the ruins of Fell's Church. "Stefan?" she called again. "What's going on? Where are you?"

"I'm behind here, Elena. Behind the wall."

Elena hurried towards the place Stefan's voice was coming from- right behind one of the few remaining walls of the church.

"Elena, aren't you coming?" his voice called again.

"Yes," she said breathlessly as she ran around the wall.

"Stefan!" she cried excitedly then just mouthed silently, astonished. Stefan was crouching In front of the bodies of several victims, and on his face lay what remained of their blood. "Stefan what- what did you- how could you-"

"I'm a vampire, Elena, this is what vampires do."

"No, no, you're better than that. You are so much better," she began, fighting hysterics while shaking her head frantically.

"How do you know that? When I was on animal blood, sure; but the only time you've ever seen me on human blood was over the course of only a week or so when I almost killed that one girl," he finished with a bloodcurdling smile. After a moment he continued, "You've only ever seen me living a lie, living as a human. I am not; I'm a vampire, Elena, and this is what vampires do."

"It's not. It's not, Stefan. Vampires don't go and massacre dozens of victims!"

"Oh, but they do. I myself have done so in the past. Remember when we were at the lake house? I told you my past was dark and that I wanted you to here about it from me? Well, this is me finishing my tale, Elena. The founders were only the beginning."

Stefan had risen from the pile before him and slowly began making his way towards Elena.

"I've killed so many more. More than you could ever imagine."

"No," Elena breathed as she began moving ever so slowly, too- away from him.

"After Lexi left the first time I reverted to my old ways, and I enjoyed it immensely. Especially without Damon there chastising me about it all," Stefan finished waving a dismissive hand at the bodies now behind him.

He was now only a few paces away from her, even with Elena backing up.

"Lexi- Lexi and Damon left?" she asked trying to stall him while figuring out what to do.

"Yes, of course, but surely you knew that. After all, both came to _visit_ me in Mystic Falls. They weren't already there. We weren't the three musketeers or anything."

"I knew that," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. Her boyfriend was obviously not there. Gone was the man she had fallen in love with, who care for her and everything around her. In his stead was some monster- a monster with a love a blood, a vampire. "I just never thought about it, I- I guess."

The last word ended as a shriek as she tripped on a root and fell to the ground. Only she never reached it. Firm, strong hands held her upright and turned her to face their owner.

"Elena," cooed Stefan as he let his finger trail down the side her face.

"Yes?" spoke Elena, in barely more than a whisper, scared to death.

"Do you know what the best part is?" This time she didn't speak at all. Stefan still took it all in stride, though. "It's the hunt. Not the chasing because that can get rather boring. But you never get tired of the look in there eyes. That look of fear as they realize that their life has come to a close. That look, well ..." Glee was evident in every aspect of the features on Stefan's face, "you never forget get it."

"Really?" Elena replied flatly, refusing to look into Stefan's eyes.

Stefan cupped her face gently and stared directly at her. "It's the look in your eyes right now."

Before she could register what the words he had said meant she felt fangs sink into the flesh of her neck and screamed.

"Elena! Elena! Elena!" Damon yelled, trying to shake Elena awake.

She yelped and cringed away from Damon, but realized it had all been just a nightmare. A hell of a nightmare for sure, but only a dream. Then she lost it and her watering eyes let the tears flow, and a sob rose up in her throat. She began crying. Crying for everyone that had died because of her. Crying for her screwed up life. She cried for all the things she had been through and everything else that was inside her.

And Damon let her. He held her in his arms, stroked her hair, and let her cry for as long as she needed.

"I- I'm sorry. It's just-" Elena sniffed.

"I know, Elena. I know, trust me," Damon laughed darkly.

They sat in silence for a little while longer with a sob occasionally escaping Elena's throat until Damon finally broke the silence. "Do you ... want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Elena cried out. "About the fact that the whole universe seems to be conspiring against me? Should I talk about the fact that I attract dire trouble like a magnet. Maybe the fact that everyone I've ever cared about I've managed to put in some type of danger or died because of me? Oh, and let's not forget I also have gotten Caroline turned into a vampire and Tyler a werewolf. Then there's my vampire mother who died trying to turn me over to Klaus and my now dead father/uncle who gave up his life so I wouldn't end up a vampire! Maybe you'd also like to discuss how I'm actually a dopleganger that was used in some strange original supernatural ritual that made an already unbeatable vampire- practically invincible, who just so happens to have my vampire boyfriend whose vampire brother is sitting on the couch next to me listening to me rant and cry," she finished weakly, falling against him again.

"Actually, I meant whatever nightmare you just had. But if you want to talk about all that other stuff, too, then it might take us awhile, but ..." he just shrugged with the hint of a smile.

Elena choked in the middle of a sob and giggled. Then, almost immediately, the smile left her face. "I was in Fell's Church and Stefan was calling me to come to him, but I couldn't see him. He was behind a wall, I think," she said, trying to recall her nightmare. "Anyway, I finally found him, but, Damon it was awful, like every horror story you ever read or movie you ever watched. Stefan- Stefan was crouching over a pile of bodies with all the blood drained, and," Elena let out a sob. "and the he came towards me, blood covering his face, and he- and he ..." Elena shuddered and began to cry again, but she needn't finish. Damon knew exactly what his brother had done in the dream.

"It was just a dream, Elena. Nothing more than a nightmare."

"I know, it just seemed so real, for a dream anyway."

Damon shifted uncomfortably in his position on the couch. He made barely any movement at all, but Elena still caught it. "What?" she asked. "Why are you squirming?"

"Nothing, Elena," Damon said casually, moving her off of him and getting up.

"Damon!" Elena called. "What is it? Is it something you found at the apartment, or was it the dream?"

"I said it's nothing," Damon repeated in a tone that clearly indicated that was the final say on the subject.

"No," Elena continued. "It's not. Damon, you can tell me. What did you find?"

Damon turned to face her wearily. He knew she wouldn't stop until she was told the truth, and to be perfectly honest: He just didn't have the heart to lie to her right then.

"I know why Klaus wanted Stefan."

Elena just looked expectantly at him.

"Look," Damon began in a tone that almost always expressed sugar-coated bad news, "first off you need to understand that not all vampires are the same. Yes, we all suck blood and have supernatural strength and hearing, blah, blah, blah. That's not really the point, but you need to know that to get what I'm about to tell you."

She nodded.

"Some vampires you would never be able to pick out from the crowd even if there was blood everywhere. They have complete self control and rarely act like anything but a human unless they have to. Others never stop moving. They are always moving to the next town looking for their next meal. And some, like Stefan, are ... well, let's call them problem drinkers."

"Problem drinkers?" Elena asked, eyebrows raised. "Damon, I already know that after that incident with my blood he wasn't himself for days-"

"Anyway," Damon continued, cutting her off, "some of these vampires can keep things in check by limiting their amount of blood consumption or just sticking to the animal stuff-"

"Like Stefan," Elena said, this time cutting him off.

"Not like Stefan actually, miss know-it-all. While some can do this others can't, and these are eventually found out and killed by humans or by vampires. Then there are what are called rippers."

Elena was not liking where this was headed at all.

"Rippers are basically mass murderers that are vampires. All humanity gone. They don't have a thought in the world other than that of where their next meal is coming from because the more you drink the more you want, and rippers always want."

"So you're saying," Elena began shakily, "that Klaus agreed to save you if Stefan became a mass murderer for him?"

"Not exactly. Way back when Stefan was known for being a great ripper. Never caught, very powerful, a true vampire. He was kind of on and off the wagon when it came to blood, and you had the fortune of meeting him when he was ... sober, for lack of a better word."

"What makes you think that that's why Klaus wanted Stefan or what he did with him?" she asked, clinging to the last hope that Stefan wasn't becoming monster.

"It just seems like a viable reason," Damon lied.

"No," Elena mumbled, "he wouldn't."

Damon had no idea if she was talking about Klaus or Stefan, so he didn't say anything. And instead sat back down and put his arm around her.

"Elena, we can find him and get him back," he whispered in her ear. "Give him a few weeks to detox and he'll be right as rain, if that is why Klaus took him. For all we know it was his insurance so that we wouldn't come after him."

"We?" she asked, laughing a little while her eyes watered. "You never let me come with you when it's anything remotely dangerous."

"I've learned my lesson when it comes to you," Damon said chuckling himself. "I'm not stupid enough to pretend that if I tell you to stay put you will- anymore. The best way to keep you safe is for you to stay close to me."

Elena nodded warily, wiping away the remainder of the tears left. "I should go and see Jeremy. Make sure he's alright, and I've got to figure out what to do with him while you and I are out looking for Stefan."

"What do you mean do with him?" Damon asked, confused.

"He's still a minor, Damon. I just can't leave him by himself at the house! Then there's school, thank God we're not far from summer break, but ..." she finished shaking her head.

"We've got a a were-vampire hybrid who just so happens to be holding the leash on your vampire boyfriend and my brother, and you're worried about ... What was it? Oh, yeah school."

"And my brother," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh. Look, Elena, it's not like he's some little ten year old that need's help tying his own shoes. He's what, sixteen? I think he can handle himself for a few weeks; after all, it's not like we're going to be leaving tonight."

Elena dropped her eyes, "We're not?"

"No, I don't have the first clue as to where they are or what they're doing, Elena. And I'm not going on some wild goose chase. We need to figure out some things first."

She nodded reluctantly, seeing Damon's logic.

"And if you're still worried about Jeremy," Damon continued in a much softer tone, "then Rick could stay with him. I'm sure he won't want to be going back to his place anytime soon."

"Why? What did you find?"

Damon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Nothing much," he said as casually as he could. "Just some blood."

"Blood?" Elena asked, skeptically, sensing there was something that Damon wasn't telling her. Maybe there was more than just a hunch to Klaus turning Stefan into a ripper.

"Yeah, there were a few blood bags ripped open."

"What do you think that means? Is that why you think Klaus is ... So Stefan might really be ..."

"I ... am not sure yet," Damon said slowly.

"Not sure?" Elena asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not sure yet," Damon corrected.

"What do you know, Damon, and don't mince your words."

"I have hunch, but I want to be sure first," Damon said grudgingly.

"What hunch?"

"I told you I want to be sure. I want to know what Klaus is doing first exactly."

"Damon!"

"Elena, I'm not going to move on this. Until I know for certain it's staying to myself."

Elena narrowed her eyes, but agreed. She knew now wasn't the time to push Damon. Klaus taking off with Stefan had really gotten to him. That and coupled with the fact that he had just come back from the brink of death and there was all that unresolved stuff between them ... Well, she would let him have this.

"When will you know?"

"It should only take a few days. If I'm still not sure by the end of the week I'll tell you, but not before. Okay?"

"Fine," she muttered.

"Good."

"Well," Elena said, standing. "I promised Bonnie and Caroline I'd meet them and explain everything in person. Then I'm going to see Jeremy."

"Alright," Damon said, nodding. "I'm going to check out a lead."

And with that, both left, each with their own agenda to attend to.


	2. Chapter 2: Picking Up the Pieces: Part 2

**Disclaimer- don't own TVD.**

"Bonnie, you can stay here as long as you like," Caroline said, comfortingly to Bonnie who was blankly staring at the piles of grimoires around guest bedroom.

"Caroline, thanks, really; but I've got to face my Dad sometime," Bonnie said drearily.

"Have you talked to him, like, at all?" Caroline asked hesitantly. She knew Bonnie and her father's relationship was stressed, especially since her mom had left, but they seemed okay- better than her mother-daughter relationship anyway. Hopefully, now that her mom knew, things would get better, but the thing was no one did know.

"I've left him a couple of messages on his cell saying that I've been at Elena's for the past few days. But I've been gone for like two weeks, so I don't know what he thinks. I guess I could say I was at Grams'. I mean there still a lot of her stuff there. I could say I've been going through the rest before they sell the house. He might believe it," she shrugged. "I just don't know."

Caroline gave her a what-can-you-do-about-it face and went back to sorting through the grimoires.

Elena walked through the door a few minutes afterwords. "Sorry, Caroline, but the door was unlocked so I just came on in."

"That's fine," she answered. "Hey, who's Helena Naughtori?" Caroline was looking inside one of the oldest and thickest books there. "I've seen like two others this size around with her name in it, too."

"Dunno," Bonnie said shaking her head. "Luka said his dad had been collecting grimoires for awhile all over the place. So it could be from a thousand years ago from someone in Europe for all I know. There are other grimoires that are thicker than that. Like," Bonnie demonstrated, holding up one of them. "This was Carson Alder's. He has like five others like this! I've also seen the name Eleanor Beansworth a lot." Bonnie put down the grimoire she was holding and put it in one of the many boxes. "Oh, hey," she said picking up another. "Here's one that says Cecilia Deandro."

"So?" asked Elena, not sure what was so special about the name Cecilia Deandro.

"It's not the name, but what's under it!" Bonnie began excitedly.

"What?" asked Caroline craning her neck to see whatever Bonnie was looking at.

"There's an inscription. It says 'Cecilia, you have the gift and it is strong within you. I hope that you take my gift of this grimoire and fill it with all the knowledge I know you will gain. A witch's grimoire is their closest confidant and best friend. I should know as I've already filled one and intend to continue writing- as you should. Keep it with you always.' And it's signed Helena."

"You think it's Helena Naughtori?" asked Elena doubtfully.

"It's possible," Bonnie explained. "Magic usually runs in a family. If there were two sisters than it would be likely that both could use magic. You know, that's something I want to work on, too."

At the quizzical looks from both Caroline and Elena, Bonnie continued. "Making my own grimoire and learning about who these belong to."

All three of the girls went back to work trying to pack away everything that Bonnie had brought. It was also decided that Bonnie would come and stay at the Gilbert's, while her grimoires would go to the boarding house. As they finished up each gave their own account of what they experienced. Bonnie and Caroline told about what happened to Jeremy, and Elena explained the whole Stefan situation.

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Jeremy was, to simply put it, freaking out. He had to tell someone, but who? There was no way he was about to tell Elena. She had enough to worry about as it was and would probably freak out anyway. Damon was out of the question too, along with Caroline- both would just go blabbing to Elena. He thought about it some more and decided that Bonnie would have the same reaction and blame it all on herself. There was only one other person that he could talk to. Thankfully, he was currently taking up residence on the couch. But he wouldn't tell him yet. Jeremy would wait to see if it happened again, in case he was just hallucinating or something from the stress of all this.

With that in mind, Jeremy went about making up Elena's room for Bonnie and packing up some of her stuff to take to the boarding house as Elena had texted saying Bonnie was going to be staying in her room for a few nights and Elena was going to stay at the boarding house for a little while longer. It would make more sense for Bonnie just to go stay at the boarding house and Elena to come back, but seeing as Bonnie still couldn't really stand Damon it was kind of out of the question.

Jeremy picked up one of the picture frames on her desk with her and Bonnie and Caroline. Smiling he stroked her face, but dropped it out of shock.

"Really? You're dating her?" asked Vicki standing next to him with her hands on her hips.

"Vicki!" Jeremy almost yelled.

"Ah, yeah, who else?" she asked him as if it were obvious.

"What? How? Where's Anna?" he asked looking around then back to VIcki who was still there.

"We aren't BFF's or anything, you know."

"I know, but you two always seem to be together. Wow," Jeremy said shaking his head, "I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

"You do get I'm not actually here, right?" Vicki asked, plopping herself on the bed.

"What?" asked Jeremy, very confused as he picked up the picture- still intact.

"I'm a ghost! Duh," VIcki explained.

"Whoa, wait, what?" he asked still very confused.

"Yeah, apparently they exist too. Crazy right?"

"Ah-"

"Unfortunately that other vampire came back too," she continued making a face. "What did you call her- Anna?"

"Yeah, I sort of dated her after you ..."

"Died, for the second time, actually?"

"Yeah, but why are you here?"

"I don't know. I just came back. Didn't have a choice in the matter, but whatever. Apparently that Anna chick came also."

"Came back? What do you mean?"

"I don't know. There were all these voices whispering in this language and ... Well, I don't know," she finished getting up. "The important thing is," she continued putting her hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eyes, "that we're here together."

"Hey, Jeremy?" asked Elena as she entered the room.

Jeremy looked from Vicki to Elena, but Elena seemed unable to see Vicki who had moved to the side and was making a face at Elena. "God, you're sister is still so annoying."

Jeremy shook his head and tried to concentrate on what Elena was saying, but it was really hard with his ghost (previously human then turned vampire) dead ex-girlfriend making snide comments every few seconds.

"What, Elena?"

"Do you need any help? Caroline and I finished helping Bonnie. She's downstairs now."

"Oh, ah, no. I'm good," Jeremy told her handing her a bag from the bed. "Here, I got those jeans and toothbrush."

"Thanks," she said with a grateful smile. She turned to leave the room. Right before she closed the door, Elena turned back, "And Jer?"

"What? Yeah?" he asked, still preoccupied with Vicki.

"I know this is all kind of crazy, but it'll be okay. Someday."

"You have no idea," he told her. Elena just smiled and nodded, closing the door.

Jeremy let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.

"Thank God," Vicki muttered, following Jeremy as he walked through the bathroom to his room.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked again, only angrily this time, turing to face her.

"What do you mean? I told you I don't know how-"

"I get it, you're not sure what's going on either, but you did that little disappearing thing the last two times I saw you. So can you do that again because I've got to go deal with more people, and you talking and making faces and everything else is annoying and distracting."

"Sorry," Vicki said, not sounding that hurt. "Fine, but I'm stuck here for now, whether you like it or not," she told him.

"Okay," he said rubbing his eyes. "Just don't-" Jeremy looked up to see that Vicki wasn't there anymore. "Sneak up on me again."

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Klaus was on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland appearing to just be milling around.

"Where's the entourage?" asked Stefan, seeing that the second car was no longer there in the rearview mirror.

"We lost them. We don't need them for this."

"What is this exactly?" Stefan asked, brooding as usual.

"Don't you ever get tired of asking questions, Stefan?" Klaus asked him, still amused.

"No, not really."

"Didn't think so," Klaus said with a smile.

He made a right turn and followed what seemed to be a dead end road. Stefan wondered vaguely about where they were headed figuring that he already knew what they would be doing once there. Instead, his thoughts drifted to Elena. He hoped she would realize that he did this to save Damon. After all, he owed his elder brother.

Klaus' thoughts weren't far away in Mystic Falls, or anywhere else for that matter. No, they were here in Baltimore, not more than ten miles away. He hoped it would be worth it. Stefan would be a fantastic distraction. To be perfectly honest, Klaus thought this one of his more genius moves. Stefan would serve his purpose today, on his first day, and continue to pay for the cure for the rest of a decade.

Stefan was surprised to find that the road did come to the dead end, but not in the way he had expected. "A gated community?" Stefan asked. Of all the places for a vampire to kill- a gated community was not the place. Even if you did manage to make the kill, it would be a mess to clean up afterwords.

"What?" asked Klaus at the look from Stefan which was a mixture of disbelief and confusion. "Ah, Stefan, surely by now you should realize that I know what I'm doing."

"Mmm," Stefan said, not entirely sure how to answer.

Once to the gate, Klaus rolled down the window to talk to the security guard.

"Excuse me sir, do you have any weapons in the car?" the man asked suspiciously. He had never seen this man and his friend before, and he was immediately distrustful of these two.

Klaus removed the sunglasses over his face and compelled the guard. "Let us through and don't tell anyone about your meeting with us."

"Go on in, and have a good day, sir," the guard said with a smile while he buzzed the two in.

"Well," Klaus said, putting his shades back on, and driving through the gate, "my jobs done. It's your turn."

"And what do you want me to do during my turn?" asked Stefan, getting really agitated.

"First we'll wait for the cover of darkness, then you'll do what rippers do best," Klaus explained with a sadistic smile.

"Why darkness?"

"Stefan," Klaus said with the smile still on his face, "I would have thought that after even just one day with me you would have realized that you'll know when I want you to know."

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Damon knocked on the door of Liz Forbes' office. Inside he heard hushed whispers that held the tone of some pretty mad people. Damon turned his head in the direction of the voices and, using his vampire sense of hearing, listened in.

"Do you want to explain to me what happened last night?" asked Carol Lockwood.

Damon tensed at the mention of the previous night.

"Carol," Liz began, "As I've already told you, the situation is under-"

"Don't tell me it's under control, Liz," snapped Carol. "Your deputies have been telling some very interesting stories concerning Damon Salvator and Jeremy Gilbert and a gun going off? I mean-"

"Liz, Carol!" Damon said in greeting after opening the door.

"Damon!" said a flustered Carol.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" asked Liz, confused.

The two women were no more than a hand's width apart. Each was in the other's face, determined that their side of the argument be the winner.

"I came here to talk to you about last night, actually. This seems to be a common occurrence today, though," he said with a nod to Carol.

"Ah," Liz began.

"No, don't worry. I got everything straightened out with Jeremy and took care of that vampire."

"What?" asked Carol, looking from Liz to Damon.

"Ah," Liz said again.

"Uh ... John," Damon said, silently cursing himself for bringing John into this. Unfortunately Damon hadn't had a cover story when he came over here, but then again Carol wasn't supposed to have been here. He would have to come up with something and fast. "were right. There was another vampire in town like you suspected. Someone to avenge that girl with the brown hair."

"Wh-? Oh, really?" asked Liz, trying to play along.

"Yeah," Damon continued, this time mentally slapping himself for mentioning Rose like that. "But don't worry. I staked her, but John's- John's dead," Damon finished with a said face. "I've already taken care of everything. All bodies are buried and no one knows but the three of us in this room now."

"So you got the vampire?" asked Carol. "He's gone. Everything's back to normal?"

"As normal as Mystic Falls ever is," Damon said with a wince.

"Well, Liz, I'm sorry for my ... little outburst just now. I didn't realize that you didn't have all the details either. Goodbye, Liz, Damon," Carol said, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

"She didn't sound very sorry," Damon commented.

"She's not. But for now, Carol doesn't have an excuse to be breathing down my neck."

"No, guess not."

"Why are you here, Damon?" Liz asked. She was standing behind her desk, straightening papers and refusing to look Damon in the eye.

"I need to know how much you know, then I'll tell you what you don't."

At this, Liz looked up. "Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Caroline's already called and told me about Matt and the vervain. Obviously no matter how many times I compel you, you figure out a way to figure out what I am," he finished with a sheepish smile.

"Well, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Damon said, sitting down in one of the two chairs sitting in front of Liz's desk. "Besides, you're one of the people I'd actually call a friend, and let's face it, considering everything that's pretty sad."

"Yes," Liz said smiling and sitting down herself. "It kind of is."

"Now what has Caroline told you?" Damon asked- starting the beginning of what would be a very long conversation.

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Elena walked through the entrance to The Grill, starving. She hadn't had much lunch and no breakfast, so she had come to The Grill for some early dinner. Bonnie and Caroline would be meeting her a little later. Bonnie was spending time with Jeremy and Caroline with Tyler. Elena absently wondered if a relationship was brewing between the two. They had been good friends the past two months, but she wasn't sure if there was anything more to it.

She walked around, looking for an empty table (apparently everyone was having dinner earlier today) when someone started talking to her.

"Uh, excuse me," said a ridiculously hot guy sitting in a booth next to where she was standing. He had dark blonde hair which was standing up every which way, blue-gray eyes that reminded her of the ocean, and a perfect smile. "Sorry, but I was wondering if you could maybe give me directions to a hotel, assuming you're from here that is," he finished a little uncertainly seeing Elena's blank expression.

"What?" Elena asked, shaking herself mentally. "Oh, ah, yeah, I'm from here, born and raised."

"Cool," he said with a smile. "Oh, sorry," he continued standing up and offering her a hand. The guy was maybe in his early twenties and was about five eleven or six foot and in great shape. "I'm Liam and new here, obviously."

Elena shook his hand. "Hey, I'm Elena ... Gilbert."

"So ... what about that hotel or motel, whichever; I'm not picky."

Liam waited patiently for her answer while Elena quickly tried to figure out what to tell the guy.

"Uh, I think there's a bed and breakfast on the edge of town. Take Sycamore down to Washington, then turn right. It should be on your ... left."

"You sound very sure of yourself," Liam said jokingly. "Are you certain you live here?"

"Yes," she said laughing. "That's why I've never had to find a hotel in this town."

Liam was laughing along with her. "Didn't think of it that way."

Elena smiled but continued her search for a free table. Liam noticed her looking around.

"You looking for someone?" he asked, politely interested.

"No, actually. Well," Elena amended, "I'm meeting some friends later, but I got hungry and came early, and apparently so did everyone else."

Liam smiled at her then said, "Hey, you can wait for your friends with me. I could really use someone to tell me about Mystic Falls. If you don't mind that is," he finished weakly, seeing the look on Elena's face.

"No, it's just ... I ... I have a boyfriend," she finished blushing, hoping that she really did still have a boyfriend and that Stefan was actually safe and okay and that she hadn't misread Liam's winning smiles at her.

"Completely platonic," Liam said raising his hands.

"I'm sorry, I just figured I'd get that out of the way," Elena said, still embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," he said still smiling, and motioning her to sit down.

She took the seat across from Liam and he handed her a menu. She flicked through it absently, already knowing it by heart, as most Mystic Falls residents did. "So, you're new here?" she prompted.

"Ah, yeah," Liam began. "Not for long though. I'm sort of between places right now," he finished a little uncomfortably.

"Really?" Elena asked, interested. It was refreshing to meet someone with problems, too.

"Yeah," he said, but he didn't elaborate till after the waitress that had just shown up had left with their orders. "I'm sort of on my own and trying to figure out where to set up some roots. And that's not something I've ever been really good at."

"Why?" she asked before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry, that was rude, I shouldn't have ..."

"Don't worry about it, Elena," Liam told her. "I have no secrets."

Elena just looked at him.

"What?" he asked, as the waitress brought them drinks.

"Nothing, it's just, someone without secrets is new for me."

"I try not to anyway."

"And how's that going for you?" she asked, intrigued.

"Okay for now. It used to be harder- family stuff. But I think Mystic Falls will be a good new start. A clean slate- you know?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling a little. "Yeah, I do. I wish I had that." Elena was surprised at how easy it was to talk to this guy. Liam seemed to be one of those go with the flow types that went wherever the wind blew them. The kind that would make the perfect kind of vampire she thought. Not wanting to set up roots, just see the world, not caring about relationships and never meeting a person that wasn't there friend.

"A clean slate? What for? I mean, I know it's none of my business, but you seem pretty faithful to your boyfriend and your waiting for friends to meet you here for dinner? Just by my first impression you're life seems decent."

"It's ..."

"Complicated," he finished for her, the corner of his mouth turning up. "Trust me, I've heard it all before."

At that point the waitress was back with orders. Elena tried to remember her name. Amber, was it? Well, it didn't matter anyway. The thing that did seem to matter to Elena was that the girl was flirting so obviously with Liam, it was disgusting. For some reason, and she didn't know why, she felt a pang of annoyance at the girl. For all she knew they could be dating and here Amber was, laying it on thick with Liam.

"Gracias, bonita," Liam said to the waitress as she put down the plates.

"I doubt that," she said interrupting whatever it was the waitress was saying.

"What?" Liam asked, not sure what Elena was talking about.

"That you've heard it all."

"Oh really?" he asked, raising and eyebrow mischievously.

"Really," she said playfully, answering with a mischievous smile all her own.

"Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree then," he said, digging in.

There was something about this girl, but Liam just couldn't place a finger on it. He like her, she was funny and open in the sort of way most girls weren't. She also hadn't flirted with him once, which was something that he wasn't really used to.

"Guess so," she agreed, taking a bite of her burger. "What was with the Spanish back there Mr. Smooth?"

"Oh, just used to it. I've spent a lot of time in South America."

"Wow," Elena commented, confirming what she had thought about him being a traveler.

"Yeah, there's great food, people, and waves."

"You surf?" she asked in disbelief.

"A little," Liam admitted. "So, what is there to do in this little town anyway? Something tells me I won't get any time on my board."

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"Rick! Hey, Rick!" called Jeremy from the top of the stairs.

"I'm in here!" Rick called back from the couch, where he sat with an array of papers in front of him. Downside of teaching, thought Rick, there were always papers to grade.

"Oh, hey, are you busy?" Jeremy asked, peering over Rick's shoulder to see what he was doing.

"Not with anything remotely interesting or important," he answered. "What's up?"

"Umm," Jeremy began, not entirely sure if this was a good idea or not. But he had made up his mind to tell somebody before this got out of control, and Rick was the ideal candidate. He wouldn't go blabbing in Jeremy asked him not to, he wouldn't freak out, but he would still listen and try to help Jeremy.

"How bad?" asked Rick, leaning back as Jeremy came around the sofa to face him.

"What do you mean?" questioned Jeremy, confused.

"I mean how bad is whatever you're about to tell me," Rick explained matter-of-factly.

"Oh, uh, that's the thing. I'm not sure," Jeremy began, looking at his feet.

Rick waited patiently for him to go on.

"Do you- do you believe in ghosts, Rick?"

"Jeremy, I believe in vampires, werewolves, and witches now, and I wouldn't even have contemplated any of this a few years back. I don't think ghosts are that big a jump."

"Good, because I think I'm seeing ghosts," Jeremy said letting out a breath.

"Elaborate," Rick commanded.

"Well, last night I thought I heard something, so I came downstairs to see if maybe Elena had come home or if you were up or something. Someone called my name and I turned in the direction of the kitchen and saw Anna-"

"Wait, your vampire girlfriend who died on Founders' Day?" asked Rick, clarifying a few points.

"Yeah, anyway ... It hadn't been Anna would said my name because the voice came again. I turned around and saw Vicki. Yes, my first vampire girlfriend who also died," Jeremy put in before Rick could ask. "The thing is only seconds later they both vanished, so I thought maybe I was just hallucinating and tired, but then they showed up in the kitchen for a few seconds, too, while I was in there. I still hadn't been back to sleep so I didn't tell anyone. But now, when Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline were here Vicki popped back up and I had a conversation with her, so either I'm going mad or seeing ghosts. And I'm not sure which one it is."

"I'm leaning more towards the whole you're losing it situation- Hey!" Rick yelled, as a pillow was flung at him.

"I honestly don't think I'm insane," said Jeremy, threateningly holding a pillow.

"I know, I know, I know," Rick agreed, covering his face with his hands. "What I think, though, is that you should tell Bonnie."

"What?" exclaimed Jeremy. "I think you're the one who's insane. Bonnie would freak. And this may not be anything; it could get better."

"Jeremy, you see dead people, you don't have a bad cold," Rick said, still holding his head in his hands.

"Look, even if I wanted to tell her, I wouldn't, not yet. She's done some pretty big spells with me and with Klaus. She's gotta be weak from that and everything else."

"Okay, I agree with you, but, Jeremy, you need to talk to her. She was really shaken up after everything and was talking about some consequence or something. I'll give you a day, but that's it. You have to tell her by tomorrow night if it happens again. Or so help me I'll tell Elena, and we both know how stupid that would be."

"If it happens again?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes."

"Thanks, Rick," Jeremy said, his face splitting into a smile as he made his way to the door.

"By tomorrow Jeremy, if it happens again!" Rick called after him as Jeremy made his way out the door.

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Klaus was still parked in the exact spot since he had arrived. He had remained relatively still and quiet for the duration of their stay outside one of the large houses in the gated community. A few phone calls were answered, but he didn't say much just listened as people talked to him, and Klaus and Stefan split a few blood bags betweens them.

As dusk descended Stefan grew more and more agitated in anticipation of what was coming. He had no idea what Klaus was planning, none at all. That's what scared him the most. If he had know, he thought he could deal with it. Unfortunately, Klaus wasn't the sharing type.

Finally, Stefan couldn't take it anymore and began his steady stream of questions once again. But Klaus put a stop to it before Stefan could even get a word out.

"Don't because you are about to be answered," he said, holding up a hand, a just as a porsche pulled into the driveway next to the Jaguar XKR of the house opposite. Two girls and a boy stepped out.

"We're here because of them?" asked Stefan, unsure why they had come all this way for three people.

"Not because of them, because of the Jag," Klaus said exasperatedly. "Of course," he continued, "they'll be a nice evening snack."

Even though he hated to admit it, Stefan was hungry, starving in fact. Just the thought of ripping into their veins made his fangs ache.

"Well then," Klaus smirked, "what's the wait?" And Stefan was out of the car door before Klaus had even finished.

Klaus just chuckled to himself as he watched Stefan run (at human speed) up to the trio to ask for help. There was a park behind the houses on the other side of the street, and Stefan motioned to it. In a hurry they all headed up a low hill in the park behind their house. But right as they reached the bottom of it, all hell broke loose. Stefan clamped his mouth down on one of the girls' throats. The guy just stood their paralyzed, and the girl backed up slowly. Once he was done with the first one, he went after the other two. Klaus stood, leaning against the car watching with rapt attention.

The moon was just past it's full and had just begun waining, A girl appeared silhouetted against the soft light given off by the moon, watching the seen unfold around her. A second woman also appeared leaning casually against the jag.

"He has skill," she commented, "but no style."

Klaus tore his eyes away from the hill were the girl was standing and where Stefan was draining the life out of the third victim and turned towards the woman, well she was more of a girl really, just like the person standing on the hill, and smiled.

"I prefer skill to style anyways," he joked.

"You would, Klaus," she said and rolled her eyes, laughing.

**Cliffhanger! Well, now it's on to the good, juicy stuff. The first episode was just to sort of summarize what went on last season and foreshadow some plot lines for this season like who's Liam and who are the two girls that seem to know Klaus and why is he looking for them? Keep reading and reviewing. I'd love to hear what you have to say! **


	3. Chapter 3: Brothers and Sisters: Part 1

**Okay, so here's the next episode, part 1! I'm trying out quick little summaries for each chapter, just to get people interested ... not sure how it'll go. Thanks for all the alerts and favorites. It means a lot that you guys think that much of this story. It will be a about a week before part 2 is put up, but for the mean time ...**

Episode 2- Brothers and Sisters

Stefan meets Klaus' sister Abigail and the witch Selena. Klaus asks for Selena's help in finding dead blood who grudgingly agrees along with Christopher, and Greta. Bonnie continues to go through grimoires and reads one by Helena Naughtori. Elena and Damon continue their search for Stefan. Liz tells Caroline of her disapproval of Tyler, leading to their starting relationship. Damon and Rick are visited by an injured supernatural entity.

Part 1

_Previously:_

_Klaus tore his eyes away from the hill were the girl was standing and where Stefan was draining the life out of the third victim, and he turned towards the woman, well, she was more of a girl really, just like the person standing on the hill, and Klaus smiled._

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"What's that supposed to mean?" Klaus asked playfully.

"It means that as long as the job gets done you have no qualms about how," the girl explained. "Neither did Caiman, come to think of it. That's probably why you two were so ... effective."

Klaus snorted. "Caiman, too, huh? Well, Abbey, you always did seem to know us better than we did, Sis," he told her, walking over and giving Abbey a hug.

"Is he really a ripper?" Abbey asked curiously, peeking over Klaus' shoulder and looking at Stefan.

"What gives you that idea?" asked Klaus, amazed that she knew what kind of vampire he was.

"Selena," was all Abbey gave as an answer, but it was more than enough.

"Selena, Selena, Selena," Klaus muttered. "She's right of course, not that I like it, but she's right."

"Did you expect me to be anything else?" asked the girl who had come down the hill and was now standing behind Klaus, holding Stefan by the neck of his jacket at arms length as if he were something disgusting.

"Of course not, dear Selena," Klaus said, soothingly.

"Why are you here, then?" Selena asked. "And why bring him with you?"

"What, not even a hello for your Uncle Klaus?" Klaus asked, feigning astonishment.

"You're not really my uncle, Klaus."

"No, but that doesn't mean you didn't grow up in my castles and palaces, you're mother was and still is my head witch, and your Aunt Evera would be upset to hear you say such a thing."

Selena just shook her head and let off a little cough that sounded oddly like, doubt it, but she let it go just the same.

"Stefan is here as a distraction, so you two would come out of the house to talk. I was not entirely sure you, ah, would."

"Why do you need to talk to us?" Abbey asked, frowning.

"Well, Abigail, I thought I'd share the good news!" Klaus called out happily.

"What good news?" asked Selena, somewhat bored and looking at Stefan as if he were something she had picked off the bottom of her shoe.

"The curse is broken; I'm free!"

"What?" both girls cried out at once. Selena let go of Stefan in surprise, and Abbey ran forward and hugged her older brother.

"Congratulations!" Abbey yelled with glee.

"What!" Selena spluttered again.

"The curse is broken, and you want to know the best part? I can turn whenever I want," Klaus said, his arm still around Abbey who was beaming up at her brother.

"You ... turn ... want," Selena was still spluttering and had even begun backing away from Klaus, fear evident in her eyes.

"Relax, Selena," Abbey said frowning. "Aren't you happy?"

"How long?" Selena said, eyes hardened.

"What?" asked Klaus, raising an elegant eyebrow.

"How long ago did you break the curse?"

"Last full moon, so it's only been a few days," he said carelessly.

"Have you taken precautions?" Selena questioned, as though she were interrogating him.

Klaus refused to look at Selena at that point, but Abbey piped up. "Precautions? What are you talking about, Selena? Klaus, what is she ..." but Abbey stopped looking from Selena's face to Klaus'.

"No, actually that's why I'm here. I was hoping you could help figure out what I should do in case ..." Klaus, too, didn't finish, but he didn't need to because Selena seemed to know exactly what he was talking about.

"There's only one option, and since sanguine mortua is rather difficult to come by these days ..." Selena said with eyes still hardened.

"Sanguine mortua? What _are_ you two talking about?" Abbey practically shouted with frustration, only barely able to stop herself from stomping her foot like a little girl.

"That's why you're here. You hope that I'll know where some is, and since you know Mother would never help you with this you came to me," Selena said, her eyes widening with understanding.

Klaus hung his head and nodded. "Please, Selena," he said, not sounding like himself at all. He sounded scared, worried, and not at all arrogant. "It's not just me that would be hurt, but think of everyone else."

"Damn it, Klaus!" Selena cursed, he knew exactly where to push her to get her to do what he wanted. Klaus only gave a watery smile.

"What's wrong, Klaus?" Abbey asked, worriedly.

"Nothing yet," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Abbey was still looked confused and frustrated, so he went on. "I'll explain everything, if Selena agrees, that is."

Selena was obviously have an internal fight because it showed clearly in her face. Help Klaus, or not help Klaus. On one hand Klaus had been like an uncle to her, and if she didn't help him she ran the risk of his wrath, a lot of innocent people getting hurt, along with Klaus himself (not that Klaus was innocent by a long shot). On the other hand Klaus had changed in the last millennium. Yes, he had always been calculating and shrewd, but in the past five hundred years or so he had become mean and cruel. She looked at Abbey and her mind was made up. Abbey would go with her brother no matter what, and Selena had grown to care for Abbey like a sister, a younger sister who had to be taken care of, but a sister nonetheless. She had to look out for her. After all it had been Klaus who had given her this commission hundreds of years ago.

"Fine," she muttered. "But is this one coming with us?" Selena asked, pointing to Stefan.

"Yes, he's part of the plan to catch the sanguine mortua," Klaus explained with a cruel smile.

Stefan had kept silent throughout all of this and still kept his mouth shut, but he was seriously confused. The curse had consequences for Klaus? What were they? He had a sister that was alive? And what was sanguine mortua? Those and so many more questions circled through his mind as Abbey led him and Klaus to the house, and Selena went back off behind the hill to presumably take care of the bodies. In fact, Stefan thought about the conversation that had just taken place he created a few new frown lines on his forehead, most of which had gone with all the blood.

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A very awkward dinner was taking place at the Forbes' residence. Caroline and Liz were unsure whether to talk or not, and if they should talk, what about.

"This is good," Liz said, commenting on her steak and baked potato.

"Yeah, I had a little extra time after I came home from Tyler's this afternoon," Caroline told her with a smile.

"Tyler's?" Liz frowned.

"Yeah, is there something wrong?" Care asked, not sure where this was headed.

"It's just, Damon came down to the office today and he explained everything, well everything I didn't know. He explained Tyler, too."

"Explained Tyler, too?" Caroline repeated, only in question form.

"About his family, the werewolf gene, most specifically how a werewolf bite can kill a vampire," Liz said in a meaningful tone.

"What?" Caroline mumbled, laughing nervously.

"Damon also mentioned how you've been there with Tyler while he's ... transformed." Liz couldn't believe she was having this talk with her daughter. Sure they had had the whole your body's changing, boys will become interested, sex talk thing, well tried anyway. But this was just strange. When she had said body changing she didn't mean your body would stop changing and you would grow fangs. When she had said boys, she hadn't meant vampires and werewolves. And she had thought it would be the whole getting pregnant, sex thing that would be the big issue. You've gotta love irony, she thought.

"Yeah, so? He's been trying to figure all this out, and he didn't want anyone getting hurt, but ... Why? What's wrong with me hanging out with Tyler?" Caroline exploded.

"It's just, especially after what Damon went through I would have thought you would have been more cautious about the whole werewolf bite thing," she said, trying to make her point subtly.

"Mom, I'm not in some cage with him while he turning, I'm tons of chains and locked doors away!" Caroline exclaimed.

"I don't want you seeing him, Caroline!" Liz yelled right back.

"Well too bad!" Caroline shouted at her mother, standing up and slamming her drink down. "Tyler and I like each other, it's not even like we're dating or anything, too! He's the one person that really gets what I went through!"

"Stefan and Damon-"

"Stefan and Damon turned along time ago, Mom. Besides, they knew what vampires were before they grew fangs!" And with that she stormed out of the room and into her own.

"Tyler?" Caroline asked, after having phoned him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Wanna do something tonight?"

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Bonnie was taking the grimoires of their respective boxes and putting them on one of the less cluttered bookshelves in the Salvator Boarding House when Damon walked in.

"You practically cradle those before you put them up," Damon commented walking through.

"At least I don't obsess over a vampire that never has and never will love me for 145 years," Bonnie shot back.

"Ouch," he said, a smile playing around his lips. "How many grimoires are in these anyway?" he asked, picking one up and looking at it.

"Over a hundred," Bonnie said, snatching the book out of Damon's hands. Damon let off a low whistle.

"And you plan to go through all of these?"

"I've already been through a lot of them, remember?"

"Oh, yes, a couple of weeks where you're stuck in an old house where loads of witches were killed while you pretend to be dead is the perfect time to catch up on some reading. Don't you think?" Damon teased, picking up another grimoire. "_Helena Naughtori, Harvest, Even my youngest has succumbed to the curse_," Damon read as Bonnie chased around the room. "_It happened two nights ago, the Frayers attempted a raid. Evera was caught by humans as she tried to get to the forest. She staked them, unsure what supernatural tribe was trying to plague us (only now do we know it was the Frayer group), and even though they weren't vampires it still did the trick. Now she is forever lost, as her three bothers before her were also. _Ah!" Damon growled angrily as Bonnie gave him his daily aneurism and took the book back.

"I haven't read through this one, yet," Bonnie said thoughtfully while stepping over Damon's body who just groaned in response. "What's a Frayer?"

"Probably the name of a supernatural clan," Damon explained, his face still eating carpet.

"What?" Bonnie asked, unable to understand him with his words all muffled.

"I said," Damon began, rolling over onto his back and getting up as he kept talking, "that's it's probably the name of some supernatural clan."

"Supernatural clan?" Bonnie said skeptically.

"Yeah, sure," Damon said. "Way back when, like before my time, or even Katherine's time humans knew about the supernatural."

"Really?" Bonnie asked, still skeptic.

"Sure, how do you think got all those stories about monsters and magic? Anyway, like BC and early AD there were different clans of vampires, witches, and I'm guessing werewolves, too, etc. Frayer is probably the name of one of those clans that was raiding another."

"Raiding?"

"Yes, witchy, raiding. When people go and pillage and scourge another village," Damon explained slowly like Bonnie was a four year old. In response, she threw a pillow at him which Damon was able to dodge easily.

"Watch it, Judgey," Damon said darkly.

"What curse then?" Bonnie said, continuing to ask questions as if Damon hadn't even opened his mouth.

"I don't know; I'm not the wikipedia for all things supernatural. Maybe she's just being dramatic and talking about killing people. Anyways," Damon said, walking out of the room, "I've got a few calls to make, so ... have fun."

Bonnie just glared at him as he gave a little wave.

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Is it a game to see who came come and talk to me at a more awkward time?" asked Jeremy as he shut the bathroom door, the toilet still flushing.

"Don't flatter yourself, Jeremy," Anna said rolling her eyes. "That other girl, what's her name, told me about your conversation and I came to set the record straight."

Jeremy waited, expecting her to go on, but when she didn't said, "Set what straight? Vicki didn't really say much of anything."

"Vicki, that's right," Anna said under her breath. "We do know why we're here and who set us, sort of."

"Well, who?" asked Jeremy, annoyed that Anna was really drawing this out.

"Those old witches at the Founder's House, that's what it was called, sent us, and we have a message for you; we just can't give it to you yet."

"You can't, won't, or just don't know it?" asked Jeremy, seriously annoyed.

"A little of all three," Anna said, not looking at all abashed.

"Ugh," Jeremy whined as he began walking out of his room. "I just might tell Bonnie about you two now."

"Go ahead," Anna said crossing her arms as Jeremy was getting ready to slam the door. "How will the Bennet witch take the fact that not one, but two, of your ex dead vampire girlfriends is, for lack of a better word, haunting you?"

Jeremy stopped in his tracks. He had thought about it. It was the original reason why he hadn't told Bonnie in the first place- when he wasn't sure if they were in fact ghosts (the whole haunting thing was the other when he figured out Vicki and Anna were in fact, ghosts). "What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying that if I were Bonnie Bennet, I wouldn't be to happy that you were being haunted by your ex-girlfriends, even if they were dead. Since we were sent to haunt you, you are the only one that can here us, touch us, see us ... you get the idea. Until we want to make ourselves known to others, that is."

"So ..." Jeremy said, drawing the syllable out as he shut the door and turned back to Anna, "where does that leave us?"

"Me with a message and you waiting to receive it. We'll be in touch," Anna said with a sly smile as she vanished into thin air.

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Caroline was impatiently waiting Tyler to come and pick her up in Mystic Falls Central Park. She was incredibly pissed at her mom. How could she be like that. After everything she was back to square one- relationship drama.

"Ugh!" she yelled, frustrated as she looked down at her phone to check the time. She had specifically told him 9:30, and it was 9:49. Once it hit the twenty minute mark Caroline was out of here. Just as the phone clock turned to 9:50 Tyler pulled up.

"Where have you been?" she all but shouted, taking her frustration out on him.

"Chill, I had to come up with a story for my mom. Ever since the whole running-away thing she's been really clingy. It took longer than expected. Sorry," Tyler said, opening the passenger door for her.

"Fine," Caroline muttered as she got in.

"What's up with you?" Tyler asked.

"Just ... nothing," Caroline said, still sulking.

"It doesn't seem like just nothing to me," he told her.

"My mom was being really stupid at dinner, and on top of everything else ..." Caroline explained, if vaguely, shaking her head.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, concerned.

"No," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "I just wanna drive."

So Tyler took off.

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"All of a sudden Mr. 20 Questions suddenly can't say a word?" Klaus teased, taking a sip of his beer.

"I thought all of your family was dead," Stefan pointed out.

He, Klaus, Selena, and Abbey were sitting at the kitchen counter of the house who it turned out Selena and Abbey were sharing with those three other humans.

At Stefan's remark, Abbey perked up. "Except for Elijah, right?" When Klaus didn't answer her she continued. "You told me Eli was still alive, Klaus."

"He was, Abigail," Klaus began soothingly, "but he tried to kill me."

"What?" Abbey choked, with a look of surprise and disbelief on her face. Selena moved over to comfort her while giving Klaus a look.

Stefan was very confuse, so Abbey didn't have qualms with either brother? She was taking his death pretty hard, and as eyes watered Stefan saw, not an original vampire, but a little sister who couldn't have been older than his age who had just learned that her older brother was killed by none other than another brother.

"What's sanguine mortua?" Stefan said, asking the question that had been bothering him the most.

It wasn't Klaus that answered, though, it was Selena. "It's latin for dead blood."

"And dead blood is ...?" Stefan said, continuing his line of inquiry.

"The blood of a certain type of werewolf, the bloodhound to be precise," she answered curtly.

"Wait, there are different types of werewolves?" Stefan was really thrown for a loop.

"Just as there are different types of witches and vampires," Klaus said, taking another drink.

"There are different-"

"Yes, for example when it comes to vampires, there's your regular run-of-the-mill vampire, then there's your vegetarian, original, transitional, bloodaholic, etc. Even the ripper," Klaus finished with a wink at Stefan.

"And witches?"

"That's more technical," Selena piped in. "There are healers, seers, what you would usually think of as a witch and so many more."

"But what about werewolves?" asked Stefan.

"The werewolf I believe you have run into is the most common species- the original werewolf, if I may. But a bloodhound is different, it's more ... evolved," Klaus began to explain, choosing his words carefully. "Bloodhounds are sometimes called a vampire's vampire because they would not only rip into and eat the flesh of their victims; they would also drink their blood, and since a werewolf's natural prey is a vampire, vampire blood became their food."

"They're more dangerous, too. Aren't they?" asked Abbey, who now had slightly puffy, red eyes.

"Very," Klaus confirmed. "Being a bloodhound has it's perks, like you can turn whenever you want, meaning no vampire that's not an original, of course, is fair game. But they still loose it on full moons, unless they have a witch's talisman," he finished, nodding to Selena.

"That doesn't explain the dead blood," Stefan pointed out.

"Dead blood is called such because if to much is consumed, it kills," Selena said bluntly. "It doesn't matter if you're werewolf, witch, vampire, human, or ... hybrid."

"Are there a lot of these bloodhounds?" Stefan asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"No, back in the old days there weren't even that many, just a handful of families," Klaus said nonchalantly. "Finding a live one will be quite the challenge."

"Why couldn't we just find a dead one and take it's blood?" he asked.

"That's the kicker," Klaus said. "Dead blood only works if the donor is still alive."

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"Find anything today?" Elena asked Damon as she plopped down next to him on the floor in front of the fire.

"Nope, nada. Klaus is staying under the radar right now. I went back to Rick's place and tried to track him, but it's been so long ..." Damon left off, leaning against the sofa and not wanting to tell Elena that he was unable to track down his little brother.

"I understand," she mumbled softly, following suit. "So do we just what- wait now?"

"It's smarter than searching blindly. Any odd disappearances crop up and Liz said I'll be the first one she'd call," Damon said, trying to make her understand that this was the best way to go.

Elena just nodded glumly. "How did that talk with Liz go?" she asked, mildly curious and wanting a distraction from thinking about Stefan.

"Fine, I think. She didn't try to stake me or anything, so that's a good sign," Damon said playfully.

She rolled her eyes and stared at him, waiting for a real answer, and when he didn't give one said, "Well?"

"Well what?" he asked.

"Seriously, Damon, what happened?"

"Nothing much. I told her everything, start to finish, and she seemed amazed at some parts, and appalled by others. But I think she's glad she's filled in now, especially with Caroline."

"I'll bet," Elena agreed. "So anything weird happens and you'll know?"

"She's looking and I'm looking, Elena. And as soon as so much as a whisper that sounds like vampire is heard, we'll have ourselves another road trip."

She smiled a little and did something even she was a little surprised at, she moved over right next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

A little taken aback, Damon put his arm around her and whispered in her ear. "We'll find him, Elena. We'll find him."

"I know," she said as her thoughts drifted to Liam. "I know." The two of them sat there like that, each lost in their own mind. Damon thinking of his brother, and Elena, for some reason even unknown to her, of Liam. He had seemed so .. well, she wasn't sure what he seemed like. He had been incredibly nice and funny. He had also seemed fairly smart and worldly (South America wasn't the only place he'd been), not to mention very good-looking. Not that that mattered much to her anymore; not since she had found Stefan. Elena shifted uncomfortably, bringing herself back into reality as she became aware of Damon's presence once again.

Damon, Elena thought, she had first believed she could only love Stefan, that she was only like Katherine in looks. But was she wrong? That kiss had been for a dying man, a sort of I'm sorry gift, wasn't it? She shut her eyes tight, head hurting from having to deal with Stefan missing and her growing- whatever it was- with Damon. That and trying to figure out Liam. Elena was sure she was going to see him again; she just had no idea when.

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Bonnie was laying in Elena's bed curled up with a few of the grimoires she had taken to study from the boarding house. She had started with Helena's. She felt really interested by her. Why? Bonnie had no idea, she just knew she was. Maybe it was the way Helena not only chronicled her magic, but also her life. Most witches put in major events and such, but Helena's grimoire was more a diary than anything.

Of the three, Bonnie was only able to find one (the one Damon had teased her with) before she had to head home. It didn't matter to her, all were at least a hand's width thick! But it was so easy to get lost in Helena's writing. She made it seem so real. The good things and the bad.

This grimoire of hers appeared to be the middle one. It was the tale of her middle age. It told of her cheating husband called Gallium. Her four children, Aroken, Elliam, Dreno, and Evera. These apparently were not her only children, just her children by her husband and the eldest. Aroken and Elliam had followed in their father's footsteps and had fallen pray to the curse. Helena constantly spoke of this curse, but she never really explained what it was which drove Bonnie crazy.

However, Helena had kept Dreno and Evera close, teaching them magic (all her children had the gift, but she had refused to teach Aroken and Elliam after triggering the curse (not that they seemed to have much down time anyway). A few years later, though, Dreno, too, fell to this same curse. And during the Frayer raid so did Evera. Helena felt all alone at this point and had stopped writing so much of her children but rather what went on with the Germanic village she lived in.

_Day in and day out I see more people, especially the young men fall prey to this wretched curse. They, the stupid fools, call it a gift and are grateful they have caused this misfortune upon themselves. I, however, see the change that it has caused on not only themselves, but all of this hillside village. The days are darker, the nights longer, and the attacks on ourselves and others grow more frequent. It used to only be once or twice every few months, but now it seems every week we hear the shouts and see the blazing fires as houses and barns are burnt down. _

_ The screams of those dying are the worst, though. I can remember when little Evera was still little she would turn to me and say, "Mommy can't they just stop?" when the raids would go underway._

_ "They are trying sweetheart," I would tell her. "But it takes a lot to hold off the bigger clans."_

_ "I meant why can't everyone just stop raiding each other, we'd all be able to grow enough food without it being burned down every month," she'd say, frowning as she crossed her arms._

_ I didn't know why to say, my little girl (she couldn't have been more than five or six at the time) was the only one willing to see the peaceful option among these barbaric and godforsaken clans. "Because they can't stop. Remember I told you that they get angry and they have to take it out on something or someone?"_

_ "I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," Evera huffed._

_ Aroken had come barreling in at that point, while i just stared at my child. _

_ "Mother!" Aroken called. "There are a couple of ours hurt badly that could use your help over at Wallsen."_

_ I didn't respond, and just held Evera tight._

_ "Mother!" Aroken called again. "Mother you must come quickly! They will die without your assistance!"_

_ The word die snapped me out of my reverie, and I quickly handed Evera over to her brother with the words, "Watch her, and don't let her out of your sight!" Then I made my way to the Wallsen's yard. _

_ They were moaning and crying. Humans, by the looks of them. They were always the worst. The most weak, the most fragile, yet every single one of us started like them-_

The door to Elena's bedroom opened, but Bonnie didn't notice. She just kept on reading. Jeremy had to start talking before Bonnie paid him the slightest bit of attention.

"Hey, Bonnie, did you- Ouch!" Jeremy called out. Bonnie had acted instinctively and had thrown Jeremy against the wall with a gust of wind.

"Oh my gosh, Jeremy!" Bonnie squealed as she hopped of the bed and ran over to him. "I"m really sorry!"

"What was that about?" Jeremy asked, rubbing a spot on his head where it had hit the wall. "I didn't think that you took such great offense to the words- good night."

"You scared me, ... and I acted without thinking. This grimoire has me really creeped," Bonnie told him, walking over and picking up the dusty old book.

"Why?" asked Jeremy, not entirely sure what could be creepier than having to dead girlfriends haunt you and refuse to leave.

"I don't know. It's just like Helena, the witch, is writing some horror novel. I'm at the part where raids on her village happen more often, and it can be very freaky at times."

Jeremy just raised an eyebrow but didn't question Bonnie about Helena or the village or the raids. He did, however, ask another question. "How can you even read these?"

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked in return.

"I mean some of these grimoires you're so obsessed with have got to be hundreds of years old and from different countries."

"Oh," Bonnie said, getting what he meant. "The point of a grimoire is so that it can be passed down to other witches so they can learn. Most spell the books so that anyone who looks at them is able to read them. Those that haven't, Dr. Martin has made translations for."

"Cool," Jeremy said appreciatively. "Well, I'm going to bed, and just came in to say good night," he told her, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Night," she told him as he closed the door.

**So what do you all think of Abbey and Selena? Still working on the characters, but they seem to be developing a little bit. You will meet more new characters in part 2! And this episode will leave you with a cliffhanger that will have you wondering how Damon knows a certain person! As always review! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say!**


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